


I Never Said She Stole My Money

by Alliswell



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Belated Birthday gift to my dear friend Mega-AUlover, F/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8524426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alliswell/pseuds/Alliswell
Summary: Peeta tries to convince his classmates that a pair of younger girls at the Campus, are innocent of the theft of his hard earned funds, using the phrase "I Never Said She Stole My Money" each time with the emphasis on a different word.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed. All mistakes are mine.
> 
> None of the characters of the Hunger Games belong to me, but it's fun to put them into this crazy scenarios.
> 
> Peeta speaks exactly 8 times in dialogue, according to the following tumblr prompt:  
>  **Write a story that uses the phrase “I never said she stole my money” seven times, each with the emphasis on a different word.**
> 
> Enjoy, and comment!

Here it is… I’m dedicating this little exercise to my dear friend @mega-aulover, as a super belated birthday present, since she deserves it. Sorry it took so freakishly long dear.

 

* * *

  
  
“I never said she stole my money,” I say flatly, as if I could care less about the whole thing, when in reality all I want to do is scream at them in aggravation.

  
Instead, I school my features into a bored expression, since I know they’re only making a big deal out of it because they’ll have to pay for transportation and snacks if they don’t hitch a ride with me, and they can’t have that now, not when they think they have it made.

  
All eyes in the room shift to me, sitting in the further most corner of the room, closer to the window, as if I was inconsequential to the actual reasons they are discussing so heatedly about.

  
“Well, somebody did!” Exclaims that jerk Cato angrily, while throwing nasty looks at the girls huddled together standing against the wall opposite me.

  
“I never said SHE stole my money,” I nod my head in the girls’ direction, my meaning hinting that I may suspect foul play from someone else.

  
I lift my head an inch, and catch a flash of gray eyes glinting with mistrust only for a second, before the breathtaking eyes flit back downward. I’m momentarily speechless, wishing the gray eyes look at me at again, just to confirm the shade is more silver than stormy, but a new voice breaks my lapse, with her irritating words.

  
“Okay, then how do you explain the cash in her hands? She was caught with it!” Accuses Clove with glee in her brown beady eyes, thinking that now she’s got me… Or THEM rather.

  
“I never said she STOLE my money,” I counter angrily this time snorting and crossing my arms over my chest.

  
I hate it when people put words into my mouth I haven’t uttered, or warp the meaning of things I’ve actually said, specially when they’re so unfair and baseless.

  
“For Pete’s sakes! This is preposterous!” Cries out Clove throwing her hands in the air dramatically, “Let’s just call the police or something and get going. We’re wasting time here!”

  
“Wait, we can’t just call the cops on our own. Peeta’s the one who needs to press charges or whatever. But if I’m not mistaken, Peeta doesn’t want to do that, am I wrong, bud?” My best friend, Finnick arches his dark copper eyebrows at me, making a point that it’s my call how we proceed from here.

  
“ ** _I_** never said she stole my money.” I shrug pointing at myself emphatically.

  
The girl with the enchanting gray eyes chances another look at me, curiously studying me under her dark thick lashes; her lips purse, while her features set into an ever deepening scowl. She holds the younger girl with the twin blonde braids tightly against her body, allowing her to keep her head down and snuggled into her shoulder.

  
I’m not quite sure what the deal is with them, but they didn’t steal anything, they were calling out to me when out of nowhere Cato caught up with them an accused them of taking the wad of cash I’d just announced had been taken from my vehicle. Neither of the two girls had access to my car, nor they strike me as the type to pick-pocket a person. The young one is too soft and sweet and the older one… Well, let’s say I’ve seen her before… Alright, I’ve seen her a lot. Not that she’d know it, I’ve just noticed her around. She’s too pretty not to notice! and during my borderline stalker observations of the older girl, I’m certain she has a very strong sense of morality and ethic.

  
She’s come into my family’s bakery a few times; she’s taken money from the take-a-coin-leave-a-coin, but she always returns the change she takes without fail, even though she’s not required to repay it. It makes no sense that someone who’ll pay back a penny or two to a public tray at a bakery, would steal money from someone, and the fact that she rush to where that person is instead of away, also tells me this is not a case of thievery on her part. It doesn’t add up!

  
All I know is that I won’t let any of this people bully them when really, they can’t prove the girls did anything wrong.

  
“Alright,” Says my childhood friend Delly conciliatorally, “Let’s give the girls the benefit of the doubt, shan’t we?” When no one is forthcoming with an answer, she plows on, “Let’s say they didn’t lift the money. But clearly someone did. Peeta’s money didn’t just up and leave the pocket of his backpack on its own. We won’t point any fingers until we figure out what happened…”

  
“I never SAID she stole my money!” I stand up growling, pulling at the root of my hair in frustration, “I NEVER said she stole my money!” I repeat in exasperation, trying to make the words sink into everyones thick skulls. I don’t understand why are we still revolving around this?

  
“I say innocent until proven guilty.” Says Finnick chewing on the inside of his cheek, twiddling with his length of rope as he usually does when in an uncomfortable situation.

  
“Dude, she had it on her, she was rushing away, the evidence it’s stacked up against her!” Yells Cato lifting a chair an inch from the ground and slamming it back down, startling all the girls in the room, particularly the young blonde who buries her face deeper into the older girl’s chest.

  
If I had to guess, I’d say the blonde is around fifteen, while the other is probably a couple of years younger than me… Seventeen? Eighteen, maybe? Nineteen?

  
Finnick straightens up to his full size, a whole five inches above Cato, his green eyes flash dangerously a warning, towering over everyone else in the room. Cato throws his hands up irately, but ends up walking away in surrender. I could’ve swear I heard Finnick mutter “That’s what I thought,” following Cato with his eyes, but I can’t be sure.

  
“If it’s all the same to you, why don’t we ask them what do they have to say for themselves? They might be able to clarify all this crap, and we can move on with our plans,” suggests Delly reasonably.

  
“Fine, ask them. But neither of them have said a word since Cato found them here. Good luck with that,” Clove sneers mockingly.

  
Delly, who’s normally the gentlest soul I’ve ever met, throws Clove the most irritated stink eye I’ve ever seen her give to anyone. I’m almost proud of her! I didn’t think she had it her, but clearly Delly can’t stand injustice either.

  
“Okay,” she breathes in forcefully, finally tearing away her narrowed blue eyes from Clove, and softening them while looking at the girls. “Hi, my name is Delly, and this here are my friends. We would love to hear what you have to say, because obviously there’s your side of the story we know nothing about, and it’ll be incredibly unfair of us to…”

  
“I took the money.” Deadpans the older girl, her voice so flat and matter of fact, that’s hard to argue with her declaration, except, the younger girl pushes away from her. Her pretty, thin face full of disgust, surprise and fear.

  
“No you didn’t!” She counters angrily staring at the older one.

  
“Prim…” The brunette warns but the blonde cuts her off.

  
“No! We didn’t do anything wrong! You shouldn’t be taking the blame for something you didn’t do, Katniss!”

  
“Primrose, that’s enough!” She hisses through her teeth.

  
But my attention is on that Primrose girl, I think she’ll be the key to solve this mystery. Delly seems to be thinking along the same lines because she’s like a rabid dog with a bone once she hears there’s more to it than the pretty girl, Katniss, is willing to share.

  
“Um, excuse me, but I think we should let… Uh, Primrose, is it? Speak. I really want to hear what she has to say,” she’s firm but still tries to reassure the girls with the look of her face.

  
“I don’t think so,” says Katniss pulling on Primrose’s arm pushing her behind her.

  
“Well, is not for you to decide, Katniss!” Before she can do anything to prevent it, Primrose has stepped around Katniss, and starts singing like a cute, irritated canary, “I was walking through Campus, heading to the girls’ dorms, and then I saw two people huddling together in a corner. I couldn’t see their faces, they took off walking fast into different directions, and I noticed one of them had drop something.

  
“I tried calling them back, they only walked faster, so I picked up what they’d dropped. That’s when Katniss, my sister, finally came to meet me and she saw the money. It was like a thousand bucks! I’ve never seen that much money in my life, I swear I wasn’t gonna just keep it. Katniss wouldn’t have stood for it anyway, so we went after the guy that took off in this direction, to try and return it, and that’s when…”

  
“Cato came after you guys, manhandled sweet little Primrose, and accused you both of stealing the money?” Offers Finnick clearly trying to keep his flaring anger under control.

  
Primrose’s eyes widen with something aching to relief, “Well, yeah, pretty much…”

  
Cato springs forward, “What? If you believe all that crap, then you’re a bigger idiot than I thought!” He throws the girls a nasty look and then sneers at the rest of us, “They stole the money!”

  
Katniss’ incredibly beautiful gray eyes seem to have caught on fire. She glares at Cato, scowling mightily.

  
Then Clove makes a growling noise, in derision. “I believe Cato!”

  
Katniss rolls her eyes, and whispers to her sister, “See, Prim? I knew they wouldn’t believe us. They’ve made up their minds. It’s best to just say what they want to hear and deal with whatever,”

  
“But what if they actually call the police, Katniss? You can get in real trouble. They’ll expel you from college, they’ll take away your scholarship money, you might even be sent to jail… Please don’t do this!” Prim argues desperately. “You’re all mom and I have!”

  
“See? She just confessed!” Taunts Clove, “Peeta said someone stole our money, and we found the culprit. It’s them!” She points an accusing finger at the girls, and my blood boils in my veins.

  
“I never said she stole MY money!” I clarify harshly. It’s My money, not Our money. I worked my ass off to earn it for this trip, I paid for the van and saved the rest for gas and food.

  
The only reason this group is coming along with me is because it’s a requirement of the school to carpool on this outing. As it is, I’m in no obligation to take anyone in particular as long as I’m taking somebody along.

  
“Prim, honey… Can I call you Prim?” Finnick intervenes, he lets Prim nod her permission, and he rewards her with his megawatt smile, “Awesome! So, Prim, we believe you,”

  
“You do?” Katniss asks skeptically before Prim has a say.

  
“I do,” He says raising his hands in conciliation. “Peeta, who’s the affected here, believes you. I’m sure Dells believes you too. So, you see, we won’t call the cops on YOU, now I can’t promise the same for the real thieves,” he then turns his sparkling green eyes to Cato, and gives him his devilish smirk.

  
I can hear the wheels turning in his head. Finn has put something together, and I think it has to do with Cato.

  
“I seem to remember a certain somebody as being left alone in the van while the rest of us loaded our stuff in the back. Then that somebody took off to the restroom in the girls’ dorms. Another person from our group went to get them and they stayed away longer than it required, then came back separately. I think you all know where this is heading…” Finnick’s threat hangs heavily in the air.

  
For a moment I think he’s gonna get throttled by Cato who looks like a volcano about to erupt.

  
Clove steps in, her face is impassive, but her brown eyes flicker with anger and fear. “Come on Cato, we don’t need to go anywhere with this losers. Marvel saved us some room in his truck, anyway. We don’t need to hear this crap,”

  
Cato stares at Prim trying to intimidate her, but all of us take a step forward. This coward won’t target the youngest in the group, not when Finnick moves his head from side to side, cracking the bones in his neck, squaring his shoulders, in a show of his bulked up muscles, while Katniss lifts her chin in defiance at the brute. He leaves finally, trailing after Clove like a domesticated Sasquatch.

  
“Mmm, that’s a convenient turn of events,” muses Delly twisting her lips to the side.

  
“What is?” Asks Finnick.

  
“That the magnificent Career Cons already had a ride lined up, when they were supposed to be riding with us.”

  
Finnick snorts a mirthless laugh, “I will bet my grandpa’s favorite fishing trident, they heard of Peeta’s money and thought they could get their hands on it and skip,”

  
“Maybe so.” Delly exhales a breath, “Now we are short two people, and the more people we can fit in the van, the more credit we all get.”

  
I’ve already come to that realization, and I’m ready to just call it, and leave with only my friends. I was an idiot to agree to take the trouble duo in the first place, I’m not about to let it happen again. Screw the extra credit.

  
“Katniss…” Prim whispers so low, I almost miss it. Her eyes dance with excitement while she pleads with her sister for something.

  
Katniss turns to her, giving her a look that means to shut her up, but Prim doesn’t seem to get the meaning behind the pointed stare.  
“Come on. Ask!” Prim cajoles lowly.

  
I’m not the only one who’s heard this time though. Delly beats me to the punch.

  
“Um, you guys wouldn’t need a ride to the mandatory symposium in the Capitol?”

  
Katniss breathes deeply, as if her resolve has broken down. “I can’t pay to go, so I’m not going. Prim came here to tell me there’s this fund thing I can apply for, and they’ll pay for it, but still. It’s too late. Prim’s still in high school, so she’s not going either.”

  
“Well, Peeta here will take you for free,” says Finnick and I nod my agreement so hard and enthusiastically, my head is in danger to fall off my neck.

  
“And food is no problem at all either,” adds Delly helpfully.

  
“The symposium itself is free,” adds Prim rocking on the balls of her feet, looking even younger than I suspect she is. “Come on Katniss, it’s mandatory,”

  
“Unless you’re dirt poor like us,” she snaps aggravated.

  
“Nonsense! Come with us! I insist. Otherwise I’ll be the only girl traveling with this two,” says Delly with a lopsided smile.

  
Katniss looks at Prim who smiles encouragingly at her. She looks at me, her mesmerizing eyes search my face, I’m speechless for some reason, so I try to smile too, hopefully it didn’t come across as creepy. She finally rolls her eyes and nods in defeat.

  
“Fine,” she poofs out. “I’ll go get my stuff and be back here in ten,”  
Prim starts jumping up and down chanting yays like a little girl. She runs up to help her big sister pack for the trip, and soon enough they’re back, hugging goodbye to one another, promising to text and call as often as possible until Katniss gets back in two days.

  
I’m not sure what to expect, but soon it’s pretty clear that both Delly and Finnick suck at navigator duties. Finnick falls asleep as soon as we hit the road, and Delly listens to her iPod with headphones on while reading a magazine. Katniss on the other hand, I find out it’s actually pretty witty and once she warms up to someone, she’s pretty chatty as well. I also get over my selective muteness around her, so we spend the whole drive talking about pretty much everything from music, to favorite drinks, to actors we can’t stand, even our favorite colors!

  
It was the most incredible twelve hours of driving (round trip) I’ve ever experienced.

  
When we return to campus, I tell Katniss she can be my copilot any time, and she laughs hard while slamming shut the door of the van. She assures she’ll see me around, and I can barely hide my excitement at her words.

  
Finnick it’s still in car when we return the van to the rental place. He keeps giving me this look and self satisfied smirk I’m starting to hate, until he nudges my shoulder with his.

  
“So… That Katniss was a total surprise, wasn’t she?”

  
I only smile to myself as I sign the paperwork to return the van.  
“I guess it wasn’t such a bad thing that jerk Cato and his psycho girlfriend Clove tried to steal your money and accused Prim and Katniss of doing it instead, won’t you say?”

  
It’s my turn to smirk, “I never said she stole my MONEY,” I tell him cryptically arching my eyebrow.

  
“No you didn’t,” he agrees with a devious spark in his eye, “But she’s still guilty of theft isn’t she? Let’s say, your attention?” He prods with a hint of mischief.

  
I shake my head, and give him a meaningful look before pointing to my chest. Finnick’s a smart guy, he’ll know what I mean.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr @ Alliswell21


End file.
